Angiogenesis, the process of forming new blood vessels from existing ones, is essential for normal wound healing, and is well regulated by the body. Inadequate angiogenesis can give rise to a variety of disease conditions, including chronic skin wounds and myocardial infarction. Angiogenesis will increasingly become important for tissue engineering because implanted scaffolds, whether they deliver autologous cells or recruit host cell infiltration, need to have a blood supply to support the formation of living tissue. Toward this goal, a concern has been the development of a biocompatible matrix that can actively promote angiogenesis, with designed chemical and structural versatility, such that with appropriate modifications it could be used as a vascularizing scaffold to promote both tissue healing and tissue growth. Further, such a matrix would also be useful in promoting ischemic wound healing as seen after myocardial infarction and in chronic skin wounds. The development of and implementation of such systems have been on-going concerns in the art. However, various approaches previously taken suggest the need for continued improvement and provide the impetus toward further effort and innovation.